It’s not a fact per se, but let’s face it: the guy is probably right. Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is continuing to express his disgust over Mayweather-Pacquiao. Like many of us, De La Hoya feels the supposed ‘Fight of the Century’ was a true dud, and will have turned away a lot of potential new boxing fans. Apparently somewhere around 2.5 million.
Here’s what De La Hoya had to tell FightHype cameras:
“… Pacquiao-Mayweather didn’t live up to expectations whatsoever …” De La Hoya said. “… You had 2.5 million people, new customers, disappointed. They wanted to see a fight, and now these are never going to want to see boxing again because of that fight. So that’s what I have a problem with. Now I’m speaking as a promoter. I love fights. I love action. I want to see an action fight. That’s what I’m going to see on November 21st [with Canelo vs Cotto].”
De La Hoya makes a good point, and being an esteemed promoter, he didn’t fail to pump juice into his own mega-fight, Cotto-Canelo. It’s forgivable, however. No one can guarantee fireworks in the November encounter, but short of ‘shoulder injuries’, it’s hard to see this one going 12 rounds.
If De La Hoya is trying to hype up his golden goose, Canelo, then using it in the same sentence as Mayweather-Pacquiao is a very smart move. The 155 pound catchweight bout will air on HBO Pay Per View, and will see Cotto’s WBC Middleweight title on the line. The Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, will host the event.
Did Mayweather-Pacquiao knockdown millions of potential future fight fans? And can November’s Cotto-Canelo pick them back up again?
The BoxingBase.com writing staff provide worldwide boxing news, coverage and analysis – they can be contacted via email and social media.
